As with Wag the Dog, a Hollywood political satire
released a few months before Bulworth, the premise behind Bulworth
sounds much better in theory than it turns out to be in practice. Warren Beatty
is Senator Jay Bulworth, a jaded political veteran from California that has
reinvented himself as a New Democrat--a pro-business moderate who calls for
welfare reform and begins every speech with the phrase, "As we approach the
dawn of a new millennium...." Bulworth is in the midst of his re-election campaign
and headed for a nervous breakdown. After obtaining a $10 million dollar life
insurance policy as a bribe, Bulworth arranges his own assassination. When the
assassination is delayed, Bulworth continues campaigning but quickly loses interest.
He ignores his prepared speeches and tells the truth about politics in America.
He gets drunk. He parties all night at an after-hours club in South Central.
This experience proves to be some sort of epiphany, and as Bulworth immerses
himself in South Central's hip-hop culture, his behavior grows more and more
erratic. In the process, he attracts the attention of a young woman (Halle Berry)
and rediscovers his will to live.

The premise seems original on the surface, but there's not much new underneath.
At the beginning of Bulworth, we witness a political advertisement that
characterizes the Senator as "old whine in a new bottle." The advertisement
may as well have been talking about the movie itself. Bulworth
delivers the same platitudes about the evils of business and politics found
in practically every other Hollywood satire on the subject. Newsflash: Money
dominates politics! Politicians are corrupt! They don't really care about the
poor and the needy! The poor turn to drugs and crime because they are disenfranchised!
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Warren Beatty's truths, Bulworth's
broadsides aren't nearly as shocking as they're supposed to be.

Even if you're partial to political satires and don't mind a little Hollywood
lecturing, you may find Warren Beatty's Beattyisms tiresome. The primary emotion
he communicates as an actor is self-absorption. He continues to cast himself
opposite twenty-something actresses even though he's now sixty years old. Watching
Warren Beatty and Halle Berry developing a romantic attachment is vaguely sickening.
Yes, the sight of Warren Beatty in hip hop clothing and rapping his speeches
is humorous, but it is also somewhat painful. I can't help thinking that some
other actor would have been funnier. Beatty does have one very good scene, however,
when Bulworth visits an African-American church and deviates from his written
speech for the first time.

Oliver Platt, who plays Bulworth's opportunistic campaign manager, is quite
amusing as he tries to keep Bulworth under control. Unfortunately, he's the
only bright spot among the rest of the cast. Paul Sorvino receives little screen
time. Don Cheadle is a fine actor, but his character is another Hollywood stereotype
(The Enlightened Criminal Who Just Needs to Be Given a Chance at Redemption)
and is not believable. Halle Berry's role is particularly absurd. The whole
movie is dragged down by her poorly conceived character and the utter lack of
chemistry between her and Warren Beatty.